Gary Paulsen has 51 audiobooks on Listento.it, narrated by 35 narrators, with an average listener rating of 4.7★ across 3,594 ratings. The most-rated is It.
Lawn Boy Returns
Summary
The summer I was 12, mowing lawns with Grandpa’s old riding mower turned into big business. With advice from Arnold the stockbroker, I learned all about making money. Six weeks and hundreds of thousands of dollars later, life got more complicated. You see, the prizefighter I sponsor, Joey Pow, won a big fight. And a TV interview made me famous. As Arnold says, “Capitalism plus publicity equals monster commerce.” Even my best friends wanted a piece of the action. Meanwhile, some scary guys showed up at Joey’s gym. . . . Gary Paulsen’s funny follow-up to Lawn Boy is full of big surprises and big laughs.
©2009 Gary Paulsen (P)2010 Brilliance Audio, Inc.
The Voyage of the Frog
Summary
"I am going to be cremated. I want you to take my ashes out alone on the Frog, out to sea alone, and leave me there. Take me to where you can’t see land and scatter my ashes there on the water.…" Fourteen-year-old David Alspeth is the owner of a 22-foot sailboat, an inheritance from his uncle Owen, who recently died of cancer. Uncle Owen’s last request before he died was that David should take his ashes out to sea, a job David would give anything to avoid. When he finally sets sail on calm, clear evening, David feels the weight of what he must do all around him. He can’t imagine life without Owen. David completes his task, but on the return trip home he is caught unawares by a freak storm. Stranded, with no compass, no radio, and only a few cans of food, it seems as if things couldn’t get any worse. But they do.
©1989 Gary Paulsen (P)1993 Recorded Books
The Time Hackers
Summary
Ever open your locker and find that some joker has left something really weird inside? Seventh grader Dorso Clayman opens his and finds a dead body. Thirty seconds later, it disappears. It’s not the first bizarre thing that has appeared in his locker and then vanished. The ultimate gamesters have decided to make Dorso and his buddy Frank the target of some strange techno-practical jokes. They’ve hacked into the time line, and things from the past keep appearing in the present. Soon, the pranks aren’t funny anymore - they’re dangerous. Dorso and Frank have got to beat the time hackers at their own game and break the code, before they get lost in the past themselves. Gary Paulsen takes listeners on a wild ride through time in this hilarious adventure.
©2008 Gary Paulsen (P)2013 Brilliance Audio, Inc.
Mr. Tucket
Summary
It is 1848, and Francis Tucket is heading west on the Oregon Trail with his family. Yesterday he celebrated his 14th birthday on the tailgate of a Conestoga wagon in the foothills of the Rockies. Today, he is going to practice with his new birthday present, a Lancaster rifle. Falling far behind the wagon train, Francis loses sight of his family and is kidnapped by Pawnee Indians. Saved by a one-armed mountain man named Mr. Grimes, Francis takes off with his rescuer on a wild adventure peopled by actual historical characters, including Jim Bowie, and set against an historically-accurate background of the Old West.
©1994 Gary Paulsen (P)1994 Recorded Books
The Crossing
Summary
Help young listeners understand the problems of poverty and hunger in Third World countries with this powerful, moving story by award-winning author Gary Paulsen. An orphan in a Mexican border town meets an American army sergeant - and hopes the sergeant will help him cross the border to a better life in the United States.
©1987 Gary Paulsen (P)1993 Recorded Books
The Cookcamp
Summary
In 1944, a little boy travels to Minnesota to live with his grandma, a Norwegian-American woman who cooks for the men who are building a road to Canada. Award-winning storyteller Gary Paulsen reveals the boy’s adventures with poignant honesty and adventurous spirit.
©1991 Gary Paulsen (P)1995 Recorded Books
Six Kids and a Stuffed Cat
Summary
From three-time Newbery Honor author Gary Paulsen comes a laugh-out-loud novella about six wacky misfits who get stuck together in a school restroom and discover friendship. It seemed like a normal school day until a horrible storm forced the very cautious school administration to make everyone hole up in a safe place. Six students find themselves stuck in a tiny, questionably smelly space - a school bathroom - with a stuffed cat for entertainment. Hijinks ensue, and the unexpected happens. They enter as strangers...and leave as friends.
©2016 Gary Paulsen (P)2016 Simon & Schuster
Field Trip
Summary
Father-and-son writing team Gary and Jim Paulsen pick up where their Road Trip left off. Ben has been invited to try out for a special hockey academy. But Dad wants Ben to catch up to the school field trip instead. So Ben, Dad, and their dogs, Atticus and Conor, jump into their truck. Ben concocts a secret plan to make the tryout, but Atticus and Conor are on to him. Ben and Dad's road trip turns into a wacky adventure full of new friends and surprises.
©2015 Gary Paulsen, Jim Paulsen (P)2015 Listening Library (Audio)
Tucket's Gold
Summary
In 1848, Francis Tucket was stolen from his family while they were travelling west along the Oregon Trail. After his escape, he spent a year learning the ways of the land from a one-armed mountain man. Trying to catch up with his family again, Francis found two stranded children, Lottie and Billy. Together, they're facing the dangers of the old West while making their way to Oregon. In this exciting continuation of the story from Mr. Tucket , Call Me Francis Tucket, and Tucket's Ride, Francis, Lottie, and Billy race to escape the outlaw Comancheros, discover hidden gold, and find a lost cliff city. As they struggle to survive, they discover that by working together, they can accomplish nearly anything. Newbery Honor-winning author Gary Paulsen fills this exciting, historically accurate adventure with gritty, realistic details. Narrator John Randolph Jones portrays each thrilling new encounter with zest.
©1999 Gary Paulsen (P)2000 Recorded Books
Notes from the Dog
Summary
Fourteen-year-old Finn is a loner, living with his dad and his amazing dog, Dylan. This summer, Finn is hoping for a job where he doesn’t have to talk to anyone except his buddy, Matthew. Then he meets Johanna, who’s living next door. She’s a graduate student in her 20s, cool and funny, and she treats Finn as an equal. Dylan thinks she’s great too. Johanna’s dealing with breast cancer, and Matthew and Finn help take care of her - and come to care for her. When she hires Finn to create a garden, his efforts backfire comically. But Johanna, and working in the garden, help Finn discover his hidden talent for connecting with people.
©2009 Gary Paulsen (P)2012 Brilliance Audio, Inc.
Vote
Summary
Some people lead and some people get out of the way. It’s a universal rule. A cosmic inevitability. Kevin Spencer is one lucky guy. Tina Zabinski, the World’s Most Beautiful, Most Perfect, Best-Smelling Girl, is finally his girlfriend. But now that he’s got the girl, will he be able to keep her?E nter his mortal enemy, Cash Devine. Handsome, smooth-talking Cash is running for class president, and he seems to have his eye on Tina. Kev’s got to dazzle her, so he decides to exercise his great political mind and run against Cash. There’s just one little problem: Kevin has to win. Gary Paulsen continues his exploration of the quirky, inventive mind of fourteen-year-old Kevin in this hilarious companion to Liar, Liar; Flat Broke; and Crush.
©2013 Gary Paulsen (P)2013 Brilliance Audio, Inc.
The Car
Summary
Fourteen-year-old Terry has parents who never paid him much attention. So when they both disappear after one of their all-too-frequent arguments, Terry isn’t exactly eager for them to come home. On his own, he occupies himself by assembling a car kit that’s been collecting dust in the garage for years. When the car is finished, Terry is pleased to discover it actually runs. Though he doesn’t know much about driving, he gets behind the wheel and heads west, with the notion of visiting an uncle in Oregon. But Terry’s plan takes a detour when he meets Shakespeare-quoting wanderer Waylon Jackson. The aging Vietnam vet has seen and done extraordinary things, and he is still hungry to learn more. With Waylon as his copilot, Terry ends up in locales as varied as a religious commune, a poker game in Deadwood, and Custer’s Last Stand. It’s an exciting and sometimes dangerous journey. Along the way, he learns a lot about people, about America - and ultimately, about himself.
©2006 Gary Paulsen (P)2012 Brilliance Audio, Inc.
Sentries
Summary
They are four different people with four separate lives: Sue, a young woman distanced from her native roots; David, a traveler in search of a dream; Laura, a student seeking her parents’ understanding; and Peter, a rock star struggling to create a perfect sound.One looming fate threatens them all. And everything they love may be taken away in one fleeting second…
©1987 Gary Paulsen (P)2013 Brilliance Audio, Inc.
Family Ties
Summary
Family fun takes center stage in three-time Newbery Honor winner Gary Paulsen's hilarious novel for middle-school boys. Kevin Spencer is the glue that holds his family together. When his wacky relatives decide to have a double wedding in the backyard, Kevin takes charge. Planning two weddings is a great way to impress his girlfriend, Tina Zabinski, the Most Beautiful and Best-Smelling Girl in the World. But as more and more relatives come to stay, things spiral out of control. Tying the knot has Kevin tied up in knots in this laugh-out-loud story.
©2014 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved. (P)2014 Gary Paulsen
Dancing Carl
Summary
In the winter life in McKinley, Minnesota, revolves around the rinks, where kids play hockey and grown-ups skate to scratchy phonograph records. Then, the year Marsh and his best friend, Willy, are 12, Carl appears at the rink, wearing a battered, old leather flight jacket and doing a strange dance that is both beautiful and disturbing to watch. It is Marsh and Willy who discover the terrible secret behind Carl’s dance, a secret that threatens to destroy him. But a small miracle occurs, and Carl’s dance becomes a fragile and tentative expression of hope and the healing power of love. An ALA Best Book for Young Adults.
©2012 Gary Paulsen (P)2012 Brilliance Audio, Inc.
Flat Broke
Summary
As a punishment for lying, Kevin has lost his allowance. He doesn’t lie now, but he’s broke. He’s got to find a way to make money. Lots of it, so he can impress Tina Zabinski, the World’s Most Beautiful Girl, and ask her on a date. So Kevin gets creative - and his life becomes a financial comedy of errors. Does he really have what it takes to get filthy rich at age fourteen? In Gary Paulsen’s hilarious follow-up to Liar, Liar, Kevin’s schemes lead him into situations that are sweet, some that are sticky, and some that are downright stinky.
©2011 Gary Paulsen; 2011 Brilliance Audio, Inc.
The Island
Summary
When his family packs up and moves from the city to a small town deep in the Wisconsin countryside, 15-year-old Wil Neuton makes an exhilarating discovery. He finds a small island on a nearby lake, a place where he can be alone and learn to know nature—and himself. On his island, he can write, paint, and watch the loons and fish in the lake. Wil can’t stay away from the outside world forever, though. Sooner or later, he must return and face the bully determined to fight him and his bickering parents, who worry when Wil decides to stay on the island indefinitely. Can Wil bridge the growing gap between himself and the rest of the world? Lyric and reflective, Newbery Honor-winner Gary Paulsen’s tale displays all the adventurous spirit and wholesome optimism that have made his books so popular.
©1988 Gary Paulsen (P)1994 Recorded Books
How Angel Peterson Got His Name
Summary
Gary Paulsen’s slapstick tales capture the “wonderful madness” of growing up in a small town in northern Minnesota, when high spirits, showing off for girls, and general idiocy led Gary and his pals to attempt some amazing stunts, including: Shooting a waterfall in a barrel Breaking the world speed record on skis Hang gliding with an army surplus target kite Inventing the skateboard Jumping a bike through a hoop of fire Wrestling - with a bear? Wacky, daring, just plain nuts - extreme sports lead to extreme fun in new stories from Gary’s boyhood.
©2004 Gary Paulsen (P)2011 Brilliance Audio, Inc.
Crush
Summary
Every time Kevin Spencer sees Tina Zabinski, the Most Beautiful Girl in the World, he’s in danger of tripping, falling, and making a fool of himself. He can hardly say a word to her. But Kev knows he’d be the perfect boyfriend for Tina. He’s not bragging. Just pointing out the obvious. Kev decides to take a scientific approach to getting a date with Tina. After all, love is based on chemistry. When new kid Cash Devine zeroes in on Tina, Kevin hustles to find the formula that will make her forget all about Cash. In Gary Paulsen’s companion to Liar, Liar and Flat Broke, Kevin’s experiments in true love are truly hilarious.
©2012 Gary Paulsen (P)2012 Brilliance Audio, Inc.
The Rifle
Summary
In this wonderfully crafted novel, a rifle, not the people who come to own it, is the main character. This story follows the rifle from its creation in 1768 to a shattering event as it roars back to life in 1994. Gary Paulsen is one of the most popular writers of young adult fiction in America today.
©1995 Gary Paulsen (P)1996 Recorded Books